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Banyana Banyana begin what will be a historic year

VAN WYK

South Africa

"It was probably the longest 13 minutes of my career. Every second felt like a year."

If you’re counting down the moments until fulfilling the dream of a lifetime, it’s maybe no surprise that it doesn’t rush towards you. But, after 13 years of craving since making her South African debut, Janine van Wyk could afford to wait a few minutes, as she's now starting a FIFA Women’s World Cup™ year which – at the fourth time of asking – won’t be tinged with frustration.

A place in the CAF Africa Women's Cup of Nations final sealed their very first ticket to the tournament and a place at France 2019, but the 31-year-old captain has quite the challenge facing her in June. Germany, China PR and Spain stand before them in Group B as the Banyana Banyana hope to cause an upset.

FIFA.com spoke to Africa's most capped women's player to discuss what she hopes to be the defining moment of her career.

If you’re counting down the moments until fulfilling the dream of a lifetime, it’s maybe no surprise that it doesn’t rush towards you.

But, after 13 years of craving since making her South African debut, captain Janine van Wyk could afford to wait a few minutes, as she's now starting a FIFA Women’s World Cup™ year which – at the fourth time of asking – won’t be tinged with frustration.

FIFA.com spoke to Africa's most capped women's player to discuss what she hopes to be the defining moment of her career.

“The teams in our group will probably see it as three points in the bag when they play South Africa but I feel African football has really raised its level.”

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Paredes, captain and leader of the Spanish defence

PAREDES

Spain

“I’m not setting any limits for this team”

Despite being a keen practitioner of judo and a talented track and field athlete, especially with the javelin, Irene Paredes decided her future lay in football. Today, no one would doubt the wisdom of that decision with the Spaniard now considered among the best defenders in the women’s game.

Paredes, who is one of the current captains of the national team, started all three of Spain’s games in their maiden FIFA Women’s World Cup™ at Canada 2015. “So much has changed,” said the player, who is hoping to help La Roja do even better and consolidate their progress at this year’s edition in France. “I hope the fans really get into it. We’ll be doing everything we can to make sure the results come our way,” she added.

Despite being a keen practitioner of judo and a talented track and field athlete, especially with the javelin, Irene Paredes decided her future lay in football and is now considered one of the best defenders in the women’s game.

A leader in the Paris Saint-Germain defence, Paredes is also one of captains of the Spanish national team. As she prepares for what will be her second consecutive FIFA Women’s World Cup this June, the 27-year-old shared her expectations with FIFA.com.

At EURO 2017, we didn’t score enough, despite creating a lot of chances. We had possession but we couldn’t translate it into goals. We do have very skilful forwards with a lot of talent though, and we’re working very hard to sort it out.